El Salvador extends state of emergency for 1 month

El Salvador on Sunday extended its state of emergency which was declared on March 27 as part of efforts against gangs in the country.

The proposal to extend the state of emergency for another 30 days was accepted with the votes of 67 out of 84 deputies in the Congress.

President Nayib Bukele expressed his pleasure over the extension and shared photos of gang leaders that were arrested by security forces.

He also said that they captured another Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang leader.

More than 16,000 people have been detained since the beginning of operations on March 25.

Rights groups have meanwhile raised concern over abuses by security authorities in El Salvador against alleged gang members following a recent wave of gang violence.

Since he came to power in 2019, Bukele has succeeded in lowering the country's murder rate. However, the U.S. has accused his government of secretly negotiating a truce with leaders of the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs, which he has strongly denied.

In recent decades, the history of El Salvador has been marked by gang violence, reaching one of the highest homicide and crime rates in the world.